FAQs

Our D.C. office and warehouse is located at:
9170 Brookville Road
Silver Spring, MD 20910

You’ll find us in the warehouse strip on the corner of Brookville Road and Warren Street, directly behind The Bicycle Place.

Driving Directions

Our Baltimore office and warehouse is located at:
1794 Union Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21211

You’ll find us across the light rail tracks at the end of the row of warehouses.

Driving Directions

Hours:

• Drop Off: You can drop off 24/7 as each location has secure a drop bin located outside of the warehouse
• Volunteering: By appointment only. You can register and sign up for a specific volunteer shift here info@levelingtheplayingfield.org
• Pick Up: If you are looking to pick up a donation and have been approved, you can sign up here info@levelingtheplayingfield.org

Residents of the Greater Washington area can drop off equipment at our warehouse in Silver Spring anytime Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. We recommend folks make an appointment before dropping off. Please email dwaine@levelingtheplayingfield.org. There is also a a white bin outside our office door labeled “Sporting Goods” for after hours and weekend drop-offs. You do not need an appointment for this.

For Baltimore and Northern MD residents, please send an email to Kaitlin@levelingtheplayingfield.org to schedule a drop-off at our Baltimore location (1794 Union Avenue).

For Virginia residents, we have a drop-off location in Chantilly at the GOT JUNK warehouse. 13933 Willard Rd, Chantilly., They accept drop-offs Monday-Saturday, 8am-5pm. Please call their warehouse (571-449-7292) before you plan to drop off equipment.

We accept almost all equipment /items associated with the sports of: Soccer, Baseball, Softball, Football, Basketball, Hockey, Field Hockey, Golf, Tennis, and Lacrosse. We also accept PE/Recess items for use by schools. For a more detailed list click here.

Items that we do not accept include: athletic clothing (sweatshirts, compression shirts, individual jerseys, underwear, hats), football helmets, roller blades, bicycles, bicycle helmets, trophies, running/cross training shoes, racquetball/squash equipment, fishing gear, swimming equipment, ski/snowboard equipment and cups/jock straps.

We greatly appreciate when individuals or groups volunteer to collect equipment for us because 95% of our donations come from individual donors!

To run an equipment collection drive first please send an email to info@levelingtheplayingfield.org. An LPF staff member will set up a phone call with you to discuss-determine what materials you need and identify the best places/times to collect. Once you have completed the equipment drive you must then schedule a time to drop off the collected equipment at our warehouse.

It begins by filling out our grant application online here.

An LPF staff member will review the application and reach out to you to set up a site visit (if you work out of a facility) or schedule a warehouse interview, if not. If you are approved after the site visit/warehouse interview, you will be invited to our warehouse to pick up the necessary equipment for your program. Please allow 1-2 weeks for LPF staff to review and process your grant application before scheduling the site visit or warehouse interview.

For more information visit us here

We accept gently used or new sports equipment only. The programs that we work with will accept all equipment as long as it is in serviceable condition.

As a growing organization, we are always looking to best serve our clients. We ask that any equipment donated is properly cleaned/maintained and is free of excess dirt/mold. We do not currently have a service to clean/maintain the equipment.

Best practice is to ask: “would I put my child in this piece of equipment?”

All donated equipment goes to schools and programs in low-income neighborhoods and serve at-risk youth. Roughly 50% of our donations serve Title I schools, meaning that at least half of their students qualify for the FARM (Free and Reduced Meals) program. The other 50% of our beneficiaries include local Boys and Girls clubs, volunteer-run leagues, and after school programs. While 95% of our donations are redistributed to programs in the DMV area, we sometimes work with beneficiaries worldwide.

Yes, we are! Please tell your children to bring their friends out, too!

Absolutely.

It is up to you to value the items you donate. We will provide you with an itemized receipt and our tax ID number.

If you make a donation after hours/over the weekend, you will need to value and inventory your items so that we can provide you with the proper receipt. Please email info@levelingtheplayingfield.org to request a blank tax receipt.

No. Our grants only provide access to our available sports equipment.

We will accept equipment donations in the mail, provided the sender covers the cost of shipping. Please ship all donations to our Silver Spring location at 9170 Brookville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

LPF can ship items nationally, but not internationally. If an international program has a contact in the US, we can ship to it, provided the program covers all shipping costs and the $100 deposit to assemble the donation in our warehouse.

We do NOT have room for these items (goals, basketball hoops, exercise equipment, etc.) in our warehouse. We can, however, post your item on our grantee newsletter and connect you with a school or program that may need it. Please email a picture of the equipment along with a brief description of the item to info@levelingtheplayingfield.org.